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GAME DESIGNER

  • 5 developers

  • 3 months

  • 2D Arcade

  • Mobile

  • Single-player

Summary:
Superhero Sweep Up is a top-down, single-player, 2D arcade mobile game where the player plays as Stanley, an aging janitor whose job it is to clean up the mess of superheroes in the wake of their battles. Using a virtual joystick, the player must sweep up debris and deposit them into dumpsters for point combos, all while avoiding the still raging battle between a superhero and supervillain. 
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My Part in the Game

  • Led concept/design team including creating game mechanics and putting them in a game framework
  • Designed and built tutorial level (1) and Level 2
  • Scripted the menu, timer, score system, dumpster word and multiplier effects, and turret enemies in c#
  • Balanced level objectives, debris distribution, scoring, and timer through iteration and playtesting
  • Iterated on player movement values to provide smooth and intuitive control for the player
  • Simple particles
  • 2D collision

A More Detailed Explanation

Using a virtual joystick, the player controls a janitor who must sweep up debris found in the city and put it in a dumpster to complete the level. When the player character's broom hits debris, it gets held in a pile in front of him. The player moves more slowly the more debris they hold in their pile at once. The more debris a player turns into a dumpster at once, the more points they will receive based on point multipliers.
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Moving constantly throughout each level is a cloud of constant fighting between a superhero and super villain. The player must watch out for the cloud and enemy turrets that can knock debris away and out of the player's pile if they get too close. Enemy turrets can be hit from behind to be swept up into the player's pile and destroyed once put in the dumpster. Players can also find speed and magnetic powerups that can help them to sweep up rubble and complete the levels.

Game Production

Game/Level Design

At the start of production, our team consisted of 4 developers: 1 artist, 1 level designer, 1 programmer, and 1 game designer (myself). ​During the concept phase, we all agreed that with all the mobile game knockoffs and duplicates out there, we wanted to create an original game to set ourselves apart. We settled on the idea of a janitor cleaning up after superheroes. 
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Next came the tougher part. How could we make a game centered around sweeping and cleaning, fun? We created a dynamic movement system, combos for big turn ins, the constant and active threat of a raging superhero battle, powerups, and even enemies that the player could destroy. 
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Shortly into production of the game, we picked up another artist which landed us at 5 total developers. The addition of a second artist was greatly needed and allowed us to create all the pieces necessary to build levels in a city setting. Still with only 1 programmer and a large number of programming tasks to be done, I filled in to help script the extra tasks, especially ones with juice, HUD, and game navigation.
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With such a small team, many of us had to work in lots of different areas to get the game completed. Even though roughly half of my time was spent scripting in c#, I was still able to devote enough time to game design, level design, and balance.
The superhero "conflict cloud" storms by, knocking the player's debris out of their pile
The core loop of the game revolves around the player collecting debris in a pile and turning it in to the nearest dumpster. The more debris that a player turns in at once, the higher their combo bonus will be and the more points they will get. However, the more debris they're carrying, the slower they move, and the higher the chance is that their pile will be scattered by the superhero battle or enemy turrets. This provides constant dynamic gameplay where the player has to make decisions about whether they want to play it safe, or go bigger and risk getting their collected debris knocked away.

Level 2

Debris starts out spread throughout the entire level but gets knocked to new positions as the superhero battle collides with it. Obstacles that have collision have distinct shapes and colors to separate themselves from the playfield of the city. To keep the game moving at a fast pace, the flow allows the player to constantly be moving around and looping without running into a dead end. A nearby dumpster is virtually always on-screen for the player so that they constantly have the options of piling up more debris for a bigger combo, or turning in with a couple pieces to play it safe.
Level Details Download

Postmortem

What Went Right?
  • We were able to be flexible with our roles and work outside our disciplines
  • Frequent playtesting gave us valuable feedback that we used to solidify values and steer the design of the game to make it more fun
What Went Wrong?
  • Although our playtests were frequent, we did not have many playtesters which made the balance of values for score and time a slow and unsure process
What Was Learned?
  • Conveying the where exactly the player can move and what they can interact with, even if they don't know what the interaction is, is of paramount importance
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